Making Plans: Looking Backwards and Forwards

Hello!

Hope you all had a magical Christmas! Mine was very quiet, but just what I needed after a very hectic run up to the big day.

The days between Christmas and New Year are always very precious to me, because I use the time to look back on the year, scribbling down the things I'm proud of and the lessons I've learned. Then I pull out a beautiful fresh new notebook and get to work making big plans for the year to come. I add motivational quotes and think about why I want to reach each goal, as well as how I'll feel when I do. This sort of ... closing ceremony to the year, if you like, always gets me really excited about starting a beautiful fresh new year (though of course it's something you can do any time, any day you like!)

Looking back on my 2012:

1. 2012 has been my most creative year to date. In previous years I used to get to every Christmas, look back, and regret not making more time for crafting and writing. It was a huge chunk of my life to disregard as unimportant each year, and I didn't fully understand how much I needed it to make me happy (and remotely sane!) until now. This year brought creativity by the bucketload, fuelled by this blog, permitted mainly by Creatives Unite, and resulting in my opening an Etsy shop! I still don't think I'm using even a tenth of my creative potential, so I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!

2. On a personal level, 2012 has been the most stressful year myself and my family have ever experienced. Inevitably, dealing with high levels of stress and worry over a long period of time can lead to all sorts of other problems. I'm so very proud to be a member of this family this year, because we've helped one another through, and despite the odds reached the end of the year feeling remarkably strong and full of fighting spirit. On the positive side, adversity really has taught me an enormous amount about myself, what really matters in my life, and my hopes for the future. I think it's made me lots more gutsy too!

3. I'm sure we'll be fed up with hearing the following sentiment by the time the clock ticks over into 2013, but  nationally 2012 really has been a classic year. A vintage year, you might say. Our little island has had a lot to celebrate, and I think we did it spectacularly. There's nothing like some national togetherness to make you feel part of a special year!

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Looking forward to 2013:

I'm not one for making resolutions per sé, but I do like to put thought and planning into the year to come, to bring direction, purpose and motivation. Here are some of my plans for the creative sector of my life:

1. Crack crochet. Share my journey on my blog.

2. Continue to grow Creatives Unite and implement plans for real-life meetups. (If anyone wants to start a group in your hometown let me know!)

3. Continue to make buttons I'm excited to sell, and to keep growing the range.

4. Use my blog and journals to push my own creative boundaries, follow my creative passions without fear, and seek inspiration in new places.

5. Finish the projects in my WIP tray (I will, I will!)

If there's any sort of project or subject you'd like to see more of on this blog in 2013, just pop a comment below, or email me at: missbeatrixwrites[at]gmail[dot]com.

Like many others I've also decided to take on a daily photographic challenge in 2013. My own theme will be 'simple pleasures' and you can join in/follow my progress via Instagram #simplepleasures (you may have to expect a lot of photos of cups of tea!)

I have whopping big plans for this blog in 2013 - I've spent a lot of time on planning and dreaming up ideas over Christmas. So I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has visited, followed (I can promise you I have danced a merry celebration dance for each and every new follower!) and commented on this blog in 2012. Thank you for the social media 'likes' and support, for joining in Creatives Unite, for the lovely snail mail, emails and Twitter chats. Each one registers as a little gift of happiness in my life, and I'm so pleased to have met a large number of truly amazing people through blogging this year.

Have you made plans and goals for 2013 yet?




  xx


PS: A buttony guest post for you over at Claireabellemakes ;)